CEC Annual Report 2012

A global community that loves and values nature

CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... i

1. Election of a new Chair ...................................................................................................................1

2. IUCN World Conservation Congress ................................................................................................2

3. Youth and intergenerational partnership at Congress ......................................................................5

4. Communicating biodiversity: Love Not Loss ....................................................................................5

5. Bringing CEPA to Rio+20 and CBD COP 11 ........................................................................................6

6. Partnerships and collaboration .......................................................................................................8

7. Knowledge management .............................................................................................................. 11

8. Building the CEC network ............................................................................................................. 11

9. The next four years: 2013-2016 ..................................................................................................... 13

IUCN CEC

Rue Mauverney 28

CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland

E-mail: cec@iucn.org

Website: www.iucn.org/cec

Cover photo from the CEC campaign How to Tell a Love Story

Introduction

The IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) seeks to engage and inspire people to

value and protect nature – from policy makers to natural resource managers on the ground. CEC is a

global voluntary network leveraging the professional expertise of more than 1,000 members in every

region of the world to advance the conservation priorities of IUCN, the world’s oldest and largest global

environmental network. Benefits of CEC membership include access to a learning community with

common goals, opportunities to showcase knowledge and exchange ideas, invitations to contribute

opinions and apply expertise, an electronic newsletter reporting on current activities and events, access

to the IUCN World Conservation Congress and participation in a specialty group or regional network.

In 2012, the IUCN Science & Knowledge Management Unit provided the Secretariat’s focal point for the

Commission. Dr. Susan Mainka headed the unit until early 2012, when she lost her battle with cancer.

Rod Abson served as both Knowledge Management Officer and CEC Focal Point through the end of the

year, when this position was dissolved as part of larger IUCN measures. Wendy Price provided additional

part-time administrative support and Cecilia Nizzola-Tabja continued to anchor CEC as Membership

Liaison Officer, celebrating her 20th year with the Commission. The CEC Chair and Steering Committee

guided the Commission, while Regional Vice-Chairs and National Activators connected members at the

regional and country levels.

In April, the CEC Bureau met to discuss lessons learned from 2009-2012 and tackle a full agenda for the

year ahead:

finalize the CEC Programme 2013-2016, which was reframed to link to the IUCN Programme and

presented for approval at the World Conservation Congress;

plan a variety of CEC activities at Congress, including the CEC Steering Committee and CEC

Members meetings, CEC awards, CEC communication plan and CEC representation in a variety of

Congress activities; and

organize CEC engagement in Rio+20, CBD COP 11 in Hyderabad and other events throughout

2012.

In September, the conclusion of the quadrennial period during the IUCN World Conservation Congress

heralded the election of a new Chair and Steering Committee to begin the next four-year phase from

2013-2016. In December, the new Chair travelled to meet with the new IUCN President in China.

This report presents highlights of CEC activities in 2012. The Commission engaged in initiatives

supporting the IUCN One Programme, with an emphasis on building skills and raising awareness. CEC

pursued partnership activities with IUCN members, the Secretariat, other Commissions and key external

partners. CEC members contributed to events such as the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Rio+20

conference and CBD COP 11. Members facilitated workshops to improve communication, education and

public awareness supporting conservation and sustainability efforts worldwide. Young professionals in

CEC took a leadership role in strengthening the emerging youth presence in IUCN.

1

1. Election of a new Chair

The Commission celebrated the close

of a successful four-year inter-sessional

period in September 2012, during the

IUCN World Conservation Congress in

Jeju, South Korea. Keith Wheeler, as

the outgoing Chair, and Juliane Zeidler,

as the incoming Chair, took the

opportunity to warmly thank the CEC

membership for contributions to the

conservation community through

strategic communication, education for

sustainable development and know-

ledge management. “We have seen significant changes in the Commission in the past four years. And we

are sure that the momentum will continue with the election of the new CEC Chair for the period 2013–

2016, with many exciting initiatives on the horizon,” they said in a joint statement.

Juliane Zeidler was an active member of the CEC Steering Committee prior to her election as Chair. “I am

extremely honoured to have been elected as the new Global Chair for the CEC by IUCN members at the

World Conservation Congress in Jeju during September this year. It is with great relish and excitement

that I take on this position and look forward to working with you to make the positive changes necessary

through the great collaborative action of the CEC community,” she said.

Nancy Colleton was appointed IUCN CEC Deputy Chair by the incoming Chair. "Whether we’re

promoting our Love Not Loss campaign, helping to better connect people to nature, educating policy

makers on the importance of biodiversity, I hope you will join the CEC and help to provide a strong and

powerful voice for nature,” she said in a note to members.

IUCN CEC Steering Committee 2013-2016

Juliane Zeidler, IUCN CEC Chair Chair, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication Director and Senior Consultant Integrated Environmental Consultants Namibia - IECN Windhoek, Namibia Email: j.zeidler@iecn-namibia.com

Nancy Colleton, IUCN CEC Deputy Chair Deputy Chair, IUCN Commission on Education and Communication President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies USA Email: nancy_colleton@strategies.org http://www.strategies.org

Keith Wheeler, CEC Chair, 2008-2012 (left) and Juliane Zeidler, CEC Chair,

2013-2016 (right).

2

David Ainsworth Programme Officer, Implementation and Outreach Division, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Canada E-mail: david.ainsworth@cbd.int www.cbd.int Wendy Goldstein Lecturer in Sustainable Development Macquarie University Sydney, Australia Email: wendy.goldstein@mq.edu.au http://www.gse.mq.edu.au/ Frits Hesselink HECT Consultancy Utrecht, Netherlands Email: hesselink@hect.nl http://www.hect.nl

Hanying Li China Email: lihanying@yahoo.com Grace Mwaura University of Oxford United Kingdom E-mail: mwauragrace0@gmail.com Louisa Nakanuku-Diggs Diggs Communications Montgomery Village, Maryland, USA Email: louisa.diggs@gmail.com Keith Wheeler CEO, ZedX Inc. Pennsylvania, USA Email: keith@ffof.org

2. IUCN World Conservation Congress

CEC members from all parts of the world travelled to the IUCN World Conservation Congress held 6 to

15 September 2012 in Jeju, Republic of Korea. They joined thousands of participants in events organized

into two components: a Forum where IUCN members and partners discuss cutting edge ideas, thinking

and practice and a Members’ Assembly that is a unique global environmental parliament of

governments and NGOs.

Commission activities at Congress

On 5 September, the CEC Steering Committee 2008-2012 held its final meeting before the start of the

IUCN World Conservation Congress and the appointment of new members for the next quadrennial. The

Chair thanked all members for their contributions and unveiled the short films in the Love Not Loss

campaign.

On 6 September, more than 70 CEC members attended the CEC Members Meeting. Objectives of the

meeting were to celebrate results of the CEC work during 2008-2012; to explain CEC priorities for the

next period 2013-2016; to share information about CEC activities during Congress and to honour

contributions through CEC awards. Also during the Members Meeting:

CEC Specialty Group Leader Gillian Martin Mehers facilitated a marketplace that provided a

space for CEC members to share and discuss topics of interest.

3

Four CEC awards were presented for outstanding work by youth, leadership as a member of

CEC, publications in Spanish on climate change, and commitment to education and learning as

envisioned by The International Brandwein Medal. CEC awards were officially presented again

during the Congress Award Ceremony on 11 September

On 12 September, the CEC Chair presented the CEC Report 2009-2012 to an audience of some 5,000

Congress participants and launched a new CEC biodiversity communications campaign based on the

popular conservation video Love Not Loss. The new campaign opened with a film titled ‘How to Tell a

Love Story’ followed by a series of short promotional videos featuring funny talking animals. (Section 3.)

CEC held four well-attended workshops in Jeju: (1) Communicating Change: How to use the power of

communication to drive conservation action; (2) Marine Conservation in Asia and the Pacific: Scoping

Pathways for International Dialogue; (3) Beyond Jargon II: The Next Generation of Communication

Strategies for a Sustainable World; and (4) Agriculture/Food Security and Biodiversity.

The Conservation Campus, which offered 46 half-day and full-day learning events (training sessions),

was successfully coordinated by IUCN CEC Focal Point Rod Abson. “The Conservation Campus brought

together experts from all over the world to share their knowledge with Congress participants,” Rod said.

CEC jointly launched Children and Nature Worldwide Summary of Research with The Children & Nature

Network. The report supports the dramatic need to reconnect children and youth with nature in their

everyday lives—for their health and well-being and that of the Earth itself.

Throughout, the CEC Booth in the Main Exhibition area was open from 7 to 15 September, providing a

hub for members and on-location video interviews asking people to tell the story of how they fell in love

with nature.

CEC members at Congress

CEC members also contributed in their individual professional capacities in workshops, the Conservation

Campus, Knowledge Cafés and poster sessions. A session on 'Communicating for climate change' was

co-facilitated by Juliane Zeidler with Justine Braby and Hilma Angula, supporting the efforts of the IUCN

Senior Advisor on Gender to improve women’s participation in forest-related climate change actions.

CEC members also organized various Conservation Campus sessions on a variety of issues like

ecopsychology, new pathways for professional updating in conservation, improving communication

processes and practices; as well as Knowledge Cafés on the integrated management of the Plata Basin

wetlands, implementation of the UN Decade on Biodiversity, zoos and aquarium and presented 'posters

like Anna Kalinowska' about her campaign to promote attractive language far from scientific jargon;

Andy Alm on transferring scientific knowledge to the field, Diogo Verissimo on Choosing your

conservation flagship; V. Balaji on restoring community-based mangrove in Palk Bay. Honorary

Membership of IUCN was awarded at Congress to eleven outstanding individuals, including CEC member

Dr. Abdulaziz Abuzinada.

4

Two CEC members also joined the IUCN Director General in a high-level communications event on 11

September for the IUCN Dragons’ Den, an event based loosely on the international hit TV show from the

BBC of the same name. On stage there were three ‘dragons’: Javed Jabbar, IUCN Vice-President and CEC

Regional Vice-Chair West Asia and the Middle East; John Francis, National Geographic Society Vice

President for Research, Conservation and Exploration, and CEC Regional Vice-Chair North America and

the Caribbean; and Fiona Harvey, The Guardian, environment correspondent. The moderator was

Mattias Klum, IUCN Goodwill Ambassador, TV presenter and explorer.

IUCN CEC AWARDS

The International Brandwein Medal: The Brandwein Medal, established in

2006, is bestowed upon individuals and/or organizations whose focus is in

keeping with Paul and Mary Brandwein’s commitment to education, life-long

learning, nature, and community. This international award is given every four

years in partnership with IUCN CEC. The Brandwein Medal Award was

presented to Wendy Goldstein for her long-time dedication to Environmental

Education.

The CEC Chair's Award: The award at the discretion of the Chair recognizes a

CEC member for leadership in realizing the vision of the Commission. The CEC

Chair Award was presented to Cecilia Nizzola-Tabja for her commitment and

support to CEC during the last 20 years.

IUCN CEC Chair’s Youth Award: This award is part of CEC’s commitment to

supporting and showcasing the outstanding work being undertaken by youth

and young professionals around the world. The award was presented to Dr.

Vedharajan Balaji of India for his outstanding work to restore coastal

environments and raise awareness amongst local communities and children of

the importance of coastal ecosystem. CEC Chair Keith Wheeler called CEC

members Dominic Stucker and Grace Mwaura to present the award.

IUCN CEC award for publications in Spanish on climate change: This CEC

award in collaboration with the Cátedra Enrique Beltrán en Conservación,

Desarrollo Sustentable y Biodiversidad de la Universidad de Guadalajara y el

Instituto Nacional de Ecología de México, y del Plan de Acción Climática

(PEACC-Jalisco) was presented 7 September in the Just World Pavillion to a

Bolivian NGO, Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza (FAN). The award is for the

best material in Spanish on environmental education about climate change

adaptation.

5

3. Youth and intergenerational partnership at Congress

The IUCN Task Force on Intergenerational Partnership for Sustainability (IPS) organized a Youth and

Intergenerational Journey through Congress, a process which started a year before the Congress was

held in Jeju, Korea, in September 2012. IPS hosted more than 10 events on youth and collaboration

across generations at Congress, including an action-planning workshop. CEC members played a central

role in the IPS activities, working closely with members of CEESP.

Two youth-related Motions were adopted at Congress. Resolution 008 on Increasing Youth Engagement

and Intergenerational Partnership Across and Through the Union had been synthesized by the Task

Force from five draft Motions. Also adopted was Resolution 101 on the Child's Right to Connect with

Nature and a Healthy Environment.

The Task Force published report on survey of more

than 250 people from across Commissions and

Regions on the draft IUCN Program 2013-2016,

with a special emphasis on youth engagement and

intergenerational partnership. CEC member

Mohammad Masum and the IUCN Media Team

produced the Youth Voices at Congress video. CEC

member Ivan Onatra of Colombia, designer of the

winning Intergenerational logo, prepared a video

statement for the logo launch. Read more about

the IPS work and the Youth and International

Journey here >>

In other youth-related activities at Congress, CEC

member Justine Braby was on a panel of future

leaders in business and conservation providing personal views on biodiversity as part of the IUCN-

WBCSD Business and Ecosystem Think Tank. CEC member Vivienne Solis Rivera supported a Knowledge

Café event with young representatives of the fishing sector in Costa Rica.

4. Communicating biodiversity: Love Not Loss

CEC launched a new dimension to positive messaging campaign that started with the video ‘Love. Not

Loss.’, which has been viewed 18,000 times (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvIdwOEzreM). Kicked off at

Congress, the newest materials include the video ‘How to Tell a Love Story’ and a series of short

promotional videos featuring funny talking animals – all concluding with a call for love, not loss, when

communicating about conservation. “If you want a happy ending for nature and people, it has to be a

love story. Personalize. Humanize. Publicize,” the materials declare.

CEC and CEESP Young Professionals at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2012: Daniela Barguil, Melanie Zurba, Dominic Stucker, Alyson Duffey, Grace Mwaura, and Diogo Verissimo.

6

Launched in Jeju at Congress, the 2012 campaign asks individuals and

groups to pass the videos on to their networks and use them in their work,

share their love stories through social media channels, and share links to

websites that use positive communication about nature. Examples of

positive messaging ‘case studies’ as well as campaign images are provided.

(See www.iucn.org/lovenotloss).

At Congress, CEC members at the CEC booth conducted video interviews

of participants, asking them "How did you first fall in love with nature?"

Led by CEC staff members Rod Abson and Cecilia Nizzola-Tabja with the

support of Andy Alm, Dominic Stucker and CEC volunteers filmed some

100 Congress participant. Selected clips are being compiled as a video.

Also in 2012, the original video ‘Love. Not Loss.’ (in its French version) won the European prize in the

Festival Européen du Court-Métrage de Fontainebleau.

5. Bringing CEPA to Rio+20 and CBD COP 11

Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) has the potential to unlock global action on

biodiversity conservation. To be successful, communicators must use science and policy wisely, to

develop messages that inspire people around the world about life on earth. CEPA is a programme of the

Convention on Biological Diversity (Article 13) and a specialty group in CEC, and members regularly

facilitate training workshops on a set of tools of method (see the CEPA Toolkit). Among many examples,

CEC’s Frits Hesselink facilitated a mainstreaming workshop in Africa in November 2012 on the use of

CEPA to implement National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), which are the principal

instruments for implementing the Convention at the national level. Two main areas of CEPA action in

2012 are presented below.

CEC at Rio+20

CEC members numbered among the 50,000 people converging at the United Nations global gathering to

advance action for a sustainable future. CEC Chair Keith Wheeler joined CEC Deputy Chair Wendy

Goldstein and CEC Steering Committee members Brad Smith and Suzana Padua to participate in the

Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development 20-22 June 2012 . More than 20 CEC members

attended the event, including Esther Agbarakwe, Juanita Castaño, Denise Hamú, Corli Pretorious, Pam

Puntenney, Daniella Tilbury, Wouter Veening and Douglas Williamson. “It was evident that we are all

pro-actively pursuing the promise of change so inspirational in 1992 and so vitally important today,”

Keith said.

CEC members at Rio+20 contributed in many ways:

Pam Puntenney reported on the Concept Note 2012 developed for Rio+20 by the UN CSD

Education Working Group and kept CEC up-to-date on activities and negotiations;

7

At the People’s Congress, Ricardo Carvalho broadcast with his Brazilian TV crew about the

country’s hopes for sustainability and its impressive grassroots commitment;

Suzana Padua CEC Regional Vice-Chair, South America, spoke at Rio+20 on examples of

sustainability in Brazil's private sector. She also organized a CEC dinner in Ipanema for CEC

members to meet and discuss opportunities in biodiversity communication;

Daniella Tilbury presented a higher education treaty that seeks to reorient higher education

towards sustainable development. Daniella, IUCN CEC Specialty Group Leaders for ESD, co-

organized a UN side event on June 18;

For the Rio+20 Elders+Youngers Project, Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, and Gro Brundtland

debated with young activists including IUCN CEC member Esther Agbarakwe at a public event in

Oslo, with questions from a live online audience;

CEC members also engaged in events by Earth Charter and LEAD and in a variety of events

supporting youth and intergenerational partnership.

Convention on Biological Diversity — CBD COP 11, Hyderabad, India

CEC delivered a Side Event during the CEPA Fair at CBD COP 11 on 10 October, titled ‘Communicating

Biodiversity: How to Tell a Love Story’. The objective was to provide practical guidance and examples of

positive communication about nature and nature-based solutions among the conservation community.

During the event, presenters showcased the video ‘Love Not Loss’ and campaign ‘How to Tell a Love

Story’ and involved people in sharing examples of personalizing, humanizing and publicizing nature.

They also discussed how this approach could support implementation of the Strategic Plan for

Biodiversity and particularly Aichi Target 1. The event also showcased CEC as a global biodiversity

communication expert network.

The Side Event was moderated by IUCN CEC Deputy Chair Nancy Colleton. Presenters included David

Ainsworth of the CBD Secretariat and CEC Specialty Group Leader for CEPA, and also Rod Abson,

CEC focal point. (View the video recording)

Also in Hyderabad, CEC members David Ainsworth and Brian Day conducted Side Events featuring

success stories in the use of CEPA tools and methods. Workshops were presented by CEC members in

Rare and the Global Island Partnership and India’s Centre for Environment Education.

8

6. Partnerships and collaboration

CEC has forged partnerships and facilitated networks across the world by holding events, meetings,

workshops and brainstorming sessions that provide the opportunity for conversation, knowledge

sharing and relationship building.

CEC at IUCN Scientific Advisory meeting in Bellagio, 4 to 7 December 2012

The IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre invited the IUCN Science Advisory Board and the Chairs

of the six IUCN Expert Commissions to a two-day workshop at the Rockefeller Foundation Centre in

Bellagio, Italy. The title of the meeting was ‘Strengthening the role of Science in the implementation of

the IUCN work programme 2013-16’. CEC Chair Juliane Zeidler attended the workshop, which focused

on identifying critical science issues that relate to the three programme areas of IUCN for the coming

four years: (1) Valuing and Conserving Nature; (2) Effective and Equitable Governance of Nature’s Use;

and (3) Deploying Nature-based Solutions to Global Challenges in Climate, Food, Development.

The meeting also considered specific IUCN knowledge products such as the Red List of Species and

Ecosystems, World Database on Protected Areas, Natural Resource Governance Framework and Index of

Human Dependency on Nature. They were discussed in the light of current key scientific challenges and

gaps that need to be addressed, and also in terms of finding new and improved working relationships

with other institutions. The Science Advisory Board is composed of eminent representatives from

international science networks and organizations.

Discussions with the IUCN Secretariat on Secretariat programme on collaboration with CEC yielded a

number of ideas. It is recognized that the expertise of the CEC and its work is cross-cutting and

important to all three IUCN programme areas and knowledge products. In particular, CEC support is

sought in planning and implementing outreach strategies for the signature IUCN products to ensure that

key target audiences are effectively reached and, furthermore, that the key knowledge products can be

utilized in the most effective manner for a variety of policy relevant materials, including being tailored to

the needs of a great variety of users.

Listening to environmental education and communication needs in China

CEC Chair Juliane Zeidler with CEC members Frits Hesselink and Hanying Li conducted a suite of meetings

and consultations with key partners for environmental education and communication in China. From 18

to 20 December 2012, meetings were held with the IUCN President, Mr. Xingsheng Zhang; China’s

leading media experts engaged in environmental communications; the Government’s Environmental

Education Centre; and the Chinese Goodwill Ambassador, Mr. Yuan Xikun. On 20 December, a one-day

IUCN Member’s Assembly took place, at which the CEC team delivered a keynote address and facilitated

a round-table discussion on environmental education and communication. For CEC, the meetings were

an opportunity to learn how CEC is needed in China, and to explore how the CEC global knowledge

9

network may add value to environmental education and communications in China. The outcomes from

the consultations will feed into the CEC Steering Committee in January 2013.

Communicating protected areas

Working with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and IUCN Communications

office, the Deputy Chair of CEC contributed to the communications and marketing of the upcoming

World Parks Congress in 2014. In addition, a member of the CEC Steering Committee member attended

the Australian Committee for IUCN meeting in Sydney in November 2012 to provide input on the host

country's suggestions on the running of the Parks Congress. One idea is to explore how we can capture

the input of Protected Area experts who attend the Congress for future use in on line learning

resources. Managers of protected areas from WCPA attended a marketing meeting organized by CEC

Special Advisor Frits Hesselink and CEC member Laurie Bennett of Futerra Sustainability

Communications to develop a new global awareness campaign for ‘communicating protected areas’. A

similar meeting was organized in at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju.

Working across generations

In addition to a focus on youth and intergenerational partnership at Congress, CEC continued to work

across generations to engage young people. Young people are essential in bringing about the transition

to sustainability and realizing the IUCN mission of biodiversity conservation. This objective gained

traction through a CEC pilot project – the Intergenerational Partnerships for Sustainability and, as of

2012, there was a Task Force, a youth representative on the IUCN Council, and a Young Professionals

Network with 263 members who have contributed to strategic events at an International scale to

coordinate biodiversity actions. CEC member Diogo Veríssimo, a conservation biologist from Portugal

with a passion for science communication, won the 2012 IUCN Thomson Reuters Environmental Media

Award. And, prior to CBD COP 11 in India, CEC focal point Rod Abson contributed strategic

communications advice to the young people attending the Go4Biodiv World Heritage International

Youth Forum, preparing a news feature titled, “Do you have a love story to tell?” For more information

about CEC and youth, visit http://intergenerationalpartnership.wikispaces.com.

More examples of partnership and collaboration:

With the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), an implementation

guide on how to run a Business Ecosystems Training session was reviewed by CEC Chair Keith

Wheeler and CEC Focal Point Rod Abson in 2012. The guide, title The WBCSD Business

Ecosystem Training: Learn how to BETter manage your ecosystem impact & dependence,

supports a course that is a freely-available capacity building program to increase the knowledge

and understanding of the links between ecosystems and business.

CEC engaged with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), an IUCN Member

organization, in 2012 through a meeting with IUCN, the Secretariat of the Convention on

Biological Diversity, and 10 representatives of zoos and aquariums. Through a roundtable

10

discussion, participants shared ongoing and planned activities in support of biodiversity

conservation. WAZA is the unifying organization for the world zoo and aquarium community.

CEC member Gerald Dick of WAZA reported plans for strategic communication focusing on zoos

and aquariums of South and Southeast Asia in support of the biodiversity decade. CEC Focal

Point Rod Abson contributed to WAZA’s newsletter with an article titled “It’s Time to Tell a a

Love Story about Nature”

A special volume of the peer-reviewed open access journal SAPIENS (Surveys and Perspectives

Integrating Environment and Security) focused on IUCN Commission in 2012. As the CEC Chair,

Keith Wheeler submitted a presentation on IUCN CEC introducing the origins of the Commission,

vision, achievements, current initiatives and future plans. The article “Creating Pathways for

Positive Change” was prepared by Wendy Goldstein, Nancy Colleton, Sandra Rientjes, Frits

Hesselink, Chuck Phillips, Juliane Zeidler, Justine Braby and Keith Wheeler.

As CEC Chair, Keith Wheeler co-authored a United Nations report on “Food and Agriculture: The

Future of Sustainability”. The report was released by the U.N. Division for Sustainable

Development as a strategic input to the "Sustainable Development in the 21st Century Report"

prepared for the Rio+20 Summit.

CEC members contributed to the UNESCO International Biodiversity Learning Workshop in Paris

in May. Gerald Dick, Neil Pratt, Kartikeya Sarabhai, Dominic Stucker and Wayne Talbot joined

some 20 other biodiversity educators, community leaders, and policy makers to develop a

Biodiversity Companion to UNESCO’s Multiple Perspective Learning and Thinking Tool, a systems

approach to biodiversity, climate, and water.

In Europe, IUCN CEC Regional Vice Chair Katalin Czippán participated in a Tiere Live workshop in

Europe along with CEC members from Austria, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and

the United Kindgom. The March workshop was organized by the Bavarian Academy for Nature

Conservation and Landscape Management (ANL) in partnership with IUCN CEC. Katalin also

delivered the keynote address at the Hungarian National Parks’ Environmental Educators

Meeting, for which CEC member Richard Novak was an organizer. She also represented CEC at

the annual meeting of Youth and Environment Europe (YEE), an event in the Czech Republic

titled ‘Reconnecting CEC and YEE, Youth and Environment Europe’.

CEC’s Frits Hesselink and Juliane Zeidler wrote a chapter on communication for conservation in

Eastern Africa for the book 'Conservation and Sustainable Development', which presents a

variety of innovative approaches to influencing policy processes. The CEC members identified

common errors and ways to improve impact through communication.

11

7. Knowledge management

IUCN CEC Focal Point Rod Abson of the Science and Knowledge Management Unit was among the

contributors to ‘IUCN Knowledge Products - a review supporting Intergovernmental Platform on

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services IPBES’. This report describes IUCN knowledge products focusing on

those which incorporate the spatial distribution of biodiversity information.

Rod Abson also joined the framing workshop “Consolidating criteria to identify sites of global relevance

for biodiversity” jointly organized by SSC and WCPA in Cambridge, UK, to offer advice where relevant

relating to knowledge management, knowledge users and matters under the expertise of the

Commission on Education and Communication. Discussions were held on the future development and

communication of the IUCN Knowledge Products.

The CEC Specialty Group Leader for Knowledge Management, Andy Alm, continued to work with the

Science & Knowledge Management Unit on advising about the development of IUCN’s Knowledge

Management strategy development and action plans.

8. Building the CEC network

Specialty Groups and National Activators

CEC continued to build its network through Specialty Groups and National Activators. CEPA was a major

focus, with workshops and the CEPA Toolkit helping to develop capacity to implement the global

environmental Conventions. CEC members also participated in dialogues on emerging issues, promoted

youth engagement, and explored social networking to reach new audiences. Strategic communication

advice was offered in various areas of IUCN.

National Activators in all regions continued is to inform Regional Vice-Chairs of national activities,

communicate with IUCN national offices, and enhance Commission impact in their countries. Selected

by the Regional Chairs, these CEC members often work in IUCN member organizations or were

recommended by an IUCN National Committee.

A survey in December gathered input on CEC’s past accomplishments and future directions. It was sent

to CEC leaders including Regional Vice-Chairs, Specialty Group Leaders and National Activators in order

to learn what worked and didn’t work as well in recent years, seeking input to guide the Commission in

the next four years.

Specialty Groups in 2012 included the following:

CEPA, Communication, Education and Public Awareness Education for Sustainable Development

12

Environmental Information Environmental Security Greening Campuses Young Professionals Leadership Team Knowledge Management Learning and Leadership Organizational Development and Change Management Sustainability Centres WCLN, World Conservation Learning Network Agro-security and biofuels

Video in Arabic, French and Spanish: ‘Love. Not Loss.’

The popular CEC video was translated into four languages. Produced with Wildscreen and Futerra, the

video is intended for use with conservation professionals to spur discussion about how to 'communicate

biodiversity'. CEC and producer Jeremy Bristow worked together to translate the video into Arabic,

French and Spanish. Translations are on the IUCN YouTube channel.

CEC online

CEC made active use of social networking accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Slideshare and Picasa and

uploaded videos to the IUCN YouTube channel. These tools were populated with content from the CBD

COP and will continue to enhance CEC networking online.

Making connections through the e-newsletter, CEC members shared more than 200 news stories about

their professional work in strategic communications, education for sustainable development, learning

and knowledge management. The number of submissions continues to grow each year. In 2012,

newsletters received an average of 1,300 total opens each, though the actual number is higher when the

internal IUCN mailing list is considered. Each newsletter offered 40 to 45 individual news items, most

submitted by CEC members in response to calls for submissions, the others generated by the

Commission and the Editor.

13

9. The next four years: 2013-2016

The Commission will help to tell the story of climate change, of the value and wonder of biodiversity and

to paint the picture of a path to a positive future. The challenge remains considerable, as noted in

programming documents: “Twenty years on from the 1992 Rio Earth Summit we cannot see significant

progress towards sustainability and in fact negative trends in the state of the environment, increasing

risks from climate change, and a growth in population towards 9‐10 billion by 2050. The resilience of

ecosystems, society and the economy are under threat, trapping people in deteriorating environments

and likely triggering conflict.”

IUCN CEC has elaborated proposed programme results for the next four years

Strategic Plan for Biodiversity Aichi Target 1: Lead IUCN’s work on Aichi Target 1 of the Strategic

Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);

IUCN Capacity Development: Operationalise IUCN’s capacity development to deliver the IUCN

Programme;

Nature‐based Solutions to Global Challenges: Promote nature‐based solutions within and

beyond the conservation community;

CEC Network Development: Develop a globally active CEC network to support programme

implementation.

CEC members have diverse skills that can help in many ways to implement the IUCN Programme. There

are currently over 1,000 CEC members and it is anticipated that many will renew their membership for

2013‐2016, and that additional members will join. This membership is envisioned as an active network

that can be mobilised to support the delivery of the IUCN Programme, provide knowledge‐based

services and advice, and explore new opportunities and cutting‐edge examples of communication,

education and knowledge management practices that can be integrated into IUCN’s ways of working.■